ED: Don’t let hospitals get overwhelmed again

It is a significant cause for concern that hospitals in Bangladesh, once again, are close to being overwhelmed with patients after the recent sudden surge in coronavirus cases in Bangladesh.

While the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Director (Hospitals) Dr Farid Uddin Miah said the surge in cases has been contained to the capital for now, it is extremely important to remain prepared, in case we reach that tipping point, while simultaneously reflecting on the reasons we are seeing such a rise in the first place.

Bangladesh has been making exemplary progress with regards to vaccinating in the country, yet it is unfortunate that in the wake of such progress, we are witnessing this spike in people being infected with Covid-19.

This is particularly distressing because Bangladesh had brought down the infection rate significantly, and we were seeing total daily cases in the hundreds, which has now, once again, gone into the thousands.

Both political leaders and experts have called for vigilance and caution from the general public who have, in the wake of vaccination, forgotten that the pandemic has not suddenly disappeared due to people getting vaccinated.

To that end, adhering to Covid-19 safety measures, such as regular hand-washing, wearing masks, and trying to maintain social distancing, remain as integral as ever to keeping infections low. Unfortunately, it appears that the people have simply grown weary of these measures and are increasingly flouting them.

Such behaviour is irresponsible and dangerous. The authorities concerned, therefore, must be ready in case hospitals do get overwhelmed again, and at the same time, ensure that people continue to behave responsibly at this juncture. We are very close to putting the pandemic behind us, but we are not there yet.